WashU Wins Season Opener as Founders Cup Stays in STL

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Chicago, Ill., Sept. 7, 2019 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team maintained possession of the Founders Cup with a 43-7 at the University of Chicago Saturday at Stagg Field in the Windy City.

The Founders Cup, which commemorates the first football game played between two University Athletic Association (UAA) schools, was introduced in 1987.

WashU's defense limited Chicago to 278 yards of total offense and forced five punts in the victory. 

Senior quarterback Johnny Davidson was 26-of-38 for 341 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdowns as WashU had 561 yards of total offense.

WashU jumped out to a commanding 14-0 lead after one quarter as Davidson completed 16-of-22 and 146 yards and two TDs. He connected with senior running back Emmanuel Engermann for an eight-yard TD reception, and then found sophomore tight end Luke Wilkin open for a 28-yard TD to make it 13-0.

Freshman kicker Chris Vartanian connected on a 37-yard FG to push the lead to 16-0. 

Davidson connected with senior wide receiver Tim Matthiessen for a 22-yard TD with 4:13 before half, and then he found sophomore tight end Sam Fenske open for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 30-7 at half. 

Davidson connected on 24-of-35 for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the opening half as WashU totaled 376 yards of total offense.

WashU's defense, which limited the Maroons to 140 yards in the first half, stood tall in the third quarter forcing a punt and a turnover on downs. Matthiessen caught a screen pass for Davidson and went 85 yards for the TD to push the lead to 36-7.

Senior linebacker Jarrod Huther had 15 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble, while senior linebacker Jeff Marek added 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. WashU had five sacks, seven pass break-ups and 12 tackles for loss in the win.

Matthiessen finished with three catches for 114 yards and two TDs, while senior tight end Mitchel Groen had eight catches for 68 yards. Senior running back John Fisher added 86 yards on 16 carries.

WashU has a bye week before hosting No. 5-ranked North Central on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. The Cardinals posted a 43-13 win at Christopher Newport in the season opener. 

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Chicago 26-12 … The Bears have played their last six road games in the state of Illinois … WashU is 22-9 in season openers under head coach Larry Kindbom … Davidson upped his career passing total to 5,383 yards … The 36-point differential was the most in the Founders Cup series since 1996.